Messages open automatically at random times on Macbook Air

My early 2014 MacBook air randomly opens Messages by itself. I don't remember setting something up or changing a setting that causes my MacBook to do this. I am logged into Messages, which is synced to my iPad messages, but it doesn't just open when I get a notification, it's completely random.

I don't want to delete Messages or log out of it because I still use it sometimes. I just want Messages to stop opening automatically. Does anyone have a solution?

Solution 1:

Even though you don’t want to sign out, it’s the fastest way to diagnose this. Make a log of how often you catch it launching - and once you know how long it takes for 10 launches - sign out for that time.

Then if it launches in that time interval, you know it’s launching locally. If you never get a launch, you know it’s messages coming in that launch the app.

Until you know if it’s a push notification or a local event launching it, you’ll have a hard time diagnosing either cause.

Solution 2:

With @bmike's help and a bit of troubleshooting, I figured out the cause is from receiving a message from a do-not-disturb group chat. Logging in and out of Messages solves this problem for me!